U.S. Senator Charles Schumer [D-NY] cited NCHH's lead work as he announced an aggressive new bill to address lead in homes. Senator Schumer's office issued a pair of press releases, the first on February 24 and the second today, following his visit to Westchester County.

Both press releases mentioned NCHH: “According to the National Center for Healthy Housing, childhood exposure to lead has lifelong consequences, including decreased IQ and cognitive function, developmental delays and behavioral problems. Very high levels of lead exposure can cause seizures, coma and even death.” NCHH, the preeminent national nonprofit dedicated to securing healthy homes for all, has studied the effects of lead extensively since its formation (as the "National Center for Lead-Safe Housing") in 1992.

Senator Schumer pointed out that federal funding for lead remediation has dropped significantly over the last several years, despite major progress toward disease prevention. The federal budgetary cuts have allowed the serious public health issue of lead poisoning to persist; the press release noted that more than 2,300 children in the Upstate New York region alone have tested positive for lead in their blood. The new bill, which Senator Schumer is sponoring with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI], aims to increase funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes grant program to $230 million, an increase of $120 million from its current level. Additionally, senators Schumer and Whitehouse have proposed to help individual eligible families in the form of tax credits to homeowners and landlords: up to $3,000 in tax credit for replacing "lead pipes, lead paint and replacing painted surfaces, windows, or fixtures contaminated with lead paint"; and up to $1,000 in tax credit for "specialized cleaning, monitoring, and resident education about lead paint contamination."

“Lead poisoning is an irreversible, preventable tragedy that robs many families and children of their future. We need to do everything we can to eliminate this hazardous lead from Upstate New York homes, which are vulnerable because so many were built before 1978 when lead paint was banned. This new $3,000 homeowner tax credit and critical increase in federal investments will help more families and communities get the lead out. That is why I am introducing a bill to finally give families, eligible landlords, and homeowners a $3,000 tax credit to help cover the cost of removing lead hazards in their homes. We need to act now and we need to act fast to get toxic lead out of our homes, before it is too late.”